The Investigators
by Kiyami
Summary: [AU InuKai Sidestory to Bloody Cactus] Inui and Kaidoh, two paranormal investigators and supernatural hunters, are out to rid the world of Hellish and demonic beings...if Kaidoh can handle it.


**The Investigators**

**The New Assistant**

**Kiyami: I had to write something like this after watching the scary episode. Of course it's AU. There are references made to Bloody Cactus. Pairings I have in mind are…InuKai, InuixYanagi, and maybe some other minor ones.**

**In this chapter it'll constantly switch back and forth. There are some parts that take place at an earlier time. **

**I feel proud. I spent time to jot down my ideas for this series. I made two pages full of notes. Expect updates sooner then some others. I already have the ending in my head.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis.

* * *

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The demonic creature wriggled even though a keen knife stuck out from its middle. The creature looked like a cross between a cat and a snake with its furless, wrinkled, dark brown skin crusted with dark blood. It snarled furiously and tried to free itself of the knife that kept it stuck to the aged wall.

"Kaidoh?" The monotone voice was the only sound besides the creature's snarl.

"H-hai, senpai." The second voice was hesitant and nervous.

A tall, lean man stepped towards the horrid creature. He hesitated before acting. Shaking fingers moved towards the writhing thing and touched it. He froze at the moment of the touch. He had actually touched the disgusting thing!

* * *

"You broke it…You broke it! I'm never going to forgive you, Kaoru!" A young boy shrieked at his brother. He gathered the remains of a mechanical airplane and ran into the house.

Kaidoh Kaoru watched his brother disappear into their house. He sighed and decided to take a quick jog. He wanted to return when things calmed down.

It had been a complete accident. Hazue had to go inside to get something to drink. He was doing nothing, but sit-ups so Hazue gave him the controller for a little while. It was the controller to the airplane Hazue was given.

Kaoru had no idea how to fly the airplane. Unintentionally the airplane flew into a tree and crashed. It wasn't his fault at all. Kaoru had never been very good with electronics so it had been hard trying to figure out how exactly to control the airplane.

Kaoru promised to himself to buy Hazue a new airplane as soon as possible. Hopefully it would allow his brother to forgive him. First he would have to take a shower. Sweat gleamed on his body from the jog.

"I'm back." Kaoru shouted as he entered his home. Dead silence. "Mom? Hazue? Dad?" He called into the empty house. The sun had already set by the time he got home. He didn't notice the liquid on the ground.

"Mom?" Kaoru called again.

Suddenly he slipped on something dark. He let out a small scream as he fell to the ground. Something wet began to soak his clothing. Not only that, but a horrible stench drifted towards his nose. He spit out whatever had gotten into his mouth and pushed himself up.

He screamed again, but this time it was louder. It hurt to scream. He felt raw pain forming in his throat from screaming for hard and loud.

Before him lay the three bodies of his family. Upon them were several freakish creatures. They had long serpentine bodies, but their heads looked like it belonged to a cat. Forearms dung into the dead, bloody flesh while snickers came from their teethed mouths.

Kaoru's body shook violently. It shook so hard that Kaoru collapsed again on the wet floor. He shuddered and vomited from the smell and sight of his supposedly dead family. That sent the strange creatures into a fit of laughter.

"Kaoru, wake up. It's time for school." One of them said in a voice sounding just like his mother's.

"Take out the trash, Kaoru." This one sounded like his father.

"I'm never going to forgive you, Kaoru!" The last one sounded like Hazue.

"What are you going to do now?" They reverted to their normal voices. Their voices hurt Kaoru's ears. It sounded like claws scraping chalkboard.

"No one left, no one left!" They taunted in sing song voices. They circled Kaoru who was sobbing uncontrollably.

One of the larger creatures moved in and slashed his arm with a dirty, sharp claw. It slithered away just as fast as it came. They had no hindlegs.

Kaoru cried out in pain, the burning feel in his arm. The creatures laughed at him without an ounce of pity. Kaoru continued to cry hysterically from the immense amounts of fear and pain.

It didn't end here though.

* * *

Fuji was no stranger to blood. The moment he entered the neighborhood he could tell that something was not right. Normal humans would not be able to sense it, but Fuji could. It felt as though something hard had hit his head.

He leaned against a streetlight to shake off the dizziness. He felt nauseous for a few moments. Usually the smell of blood wouldn't have this effect on him, but old blood did. Old blood that came in large quantities. This could only mean one thing. Trouble.

Fuji went off into a dash in the direction the scent was coming from. Luckily the neighborhood was very straightforward. There weren't any odd twists or turns to navigate through, just one long straight street.

Finally he came to a stop at a normal seeming house. Nothing made it seem very different from the surrounding homes except for the bright pink flamingo stuck in the middle of the yard. Slowly and cautiously he stepped onto the property. He felt sicker with the smell stronger then ever now, but he was getting used to it.

"Hello?" Fuji called into the empty house. No one replied, but he could definitely hear a distinct snickering sound in the other room.

* * *

"Kaoru! Kaoru!" The creature moaned pitifully with its voice sounding just like his mother's.

"S-senpai?" Kaidoh backed away from the writhing creature stuck to the wall.

"Do it, Kaidoh, for her." Inui encouraged, but didn't move an inch from where he stood.

Kaidoh turned back to the demonic thing that still had the knife stuck right in the middle. He could do this…For Mom.

* * *

"Fuji?" Inui answered the door precisely after the fourth knock. He didn't expect his friend to show up so suddenly especially with a limp body of a vaguely familiar boy.

"Inui, I know this is asking a lot, but would you mind taking him in? I would if I could, but you know he's a human and I'm not. There's Mizuki too and you've been saying how you're looking for an assistant and all…" Fuji desperately racked his mind to pull out reasons, but there was no need for that.

Inui stepped aside. "Come on in."

Fuji nodded and carried in the bloody body of the boy. It was a strange sight seeing such a fragile seeming and small man carry such a tall boy.

"Explain." Inui said once Fuji had gently placed the Kaoru boy onto the couch.

"Saa, let's see. I was walking home from meeting you. I smelled blood, lots of it and it wasn't fresh at all. I went to it and do you know what I found?" Fuji asked.

"No, Fuji, I wasn't there." Inui sighed, but jotted down notes in a notebook he had just pulled out.

"I saw Reapers. There was a lot…I'd say about a dozen. They…They killed his family…He almost died too." Fuji busied himself by cleaning Kaidoh Kaoru. A wet cloth, supplied by Inui, wiped away the blood covering his skin, but more would come out from freshly cut wounds.

"I'm surprised by your self-control." Inui commented. He stood up with the notebook in hand.

"He's cute, but he's not my type. Saa, we should be nice to the poor kid. Lost his family…and himself."

* * *

"Kaoru!" The pathetic moans had now elevated to screams.

Kaidoh trembled and stepped away from the thing.

"Kaidoh, do it. Finish it off!" Inui ordered.

"M-mom…"

* * *

"Do you know your name?"

"N-no…"

"Memories? Names? Places? Anything?"

"No."

"So how bad is it, Inui?"

"Fuji, it's worse then I thought. You were there just in time. Another couple of seconds and he would be like his family. I'm afraid they've stolen everything."

"F-family?"

"Shouldn't we do something?"

"For now you should leave. Mizuki could be coming soon."

"B-but—"

"I'll take care of him. He may be the person I need to be my assistant."

Fuji sighed. "Fine, I'll leave tomorrow."

* * *

"You're name is Kaidoh Kaoru. Remember that."

"Kaidoh…Kaoru?"

They stared at each other for what seemed like forever. Inui broke the silence with a sigh. "Rest for now. I'll tell you more later."

But Kaidoh didn't need anyone to tell him to. He was asleep with his mind and body racked with exhaustion. Inui watched Kaidoh sleep. The boy seemed at ease and incredibly relaxed despite what had happened. That was explainable though. He didn't even know what he had lost.

The creatures that had attacked his family were called Reapers. They always had a habit of stealing their victim's memories before taking their souls. The only way Kaidoh would ever remember again was if they were killed. Unfortunately Fuji had reported they had fled before he could catch them.

"Nnn…" Kaoru moved in his sleep. Inui stood up and gently placed a blanket over the curled up body. That stopped the movements.

He sat down by a chair Fuji had pulled up the night before. He grabbed the green notebook on the coffee table. Slowly Inui flipped through the notes. Inui had taken interest in Kaidoh Kaoru long before his family had died. The boy was special.

* * *

They were in a park. Inui was sitting on a bench with the trademark notebook opened to a page covered with neatly written notes. Kaidoh was there too. He was running as he often did after school, but staying fit for tennis was not his intention that day.

Kaidoh was determined to catch the cat before him. The short-haired, brown cat led Kaoru on a neverending chase throughout the park. Luckily the cat stayed on path and barely any people were there. The weather was becoming colder with winter approaching.

Kaidoh smiled with satisfaction as he closed the gap between the cat and himself. He reached out his arm to grab the cat until it jumped. The brown cat jumped onto a bench and settled itself down on none other then Inui.

Kaidoh fell face first with his arm still outstretched. He hadn't expected that. He had lost his balance and now…And now he was touching some stranger.

Inui raised an eyebrow. Out of nowhere a cat had appeared on top of his notes. Shortly after that a young boy had fallen next to him. A toned arm rested on Inui's knees although the rest of the body was on the ground. He hadn't expected that.

Inui opened his mouth to say something, but froze. He felt raw power coursing through the body of the boy. It could only mean one thing. This boy had supernatural abilities, but Inui couldn't figure out what it was. The boy had disappeared before Inui could say anything.

For the next few months they saw each other. Kaoru always thinking they were chance encounters, but Inui had arranged it. He had carefully watched the boy to find any peculiar behavior. The only thing he found was the boy's strange obsession with cats.

After discovering his name, Inui found out that the boy was far younger then he had first thought. Too young with a loving family. Inui stopped observing Kaidoh Kaoru after that. He didn't want to disturb Kaoru's normal life by awakening his powers or offering him a chance to be Inui's new assistant.

* * *

Inui placed his hand on Kaidoh's shoulder. Kaidoh's body stopped shaking.

"Kaidoh, do it."

"Noo! No! Kaoru, don't!" The Reaper shrieked in the voice of his mother.

"Come to your senses!" Inui shook Kaidoh's body.

"S-senpai, please. Do…it for me…" Kaidoh softly said.

* * *

"Inui speaking."

"Guess what, Inui!" Fuji shouted into his small, blue cell phone.

"What?" Inui shifted the phone from his left ear to his right.

"I killed one! I caught a Reaper today. I killed it!" Fuji sounded excited. He should be.

"Was it the right one?" Inui stepped out of the kitchen where he was concocting a special tea for his guest.

Kaidoh was still sleeping. He wouldn't be able to tell unless Kaidoh was awake.

"Maybe. It was a small, young one though. Didn't have the souls of anyone in the Kaidoh family I think. No one looked like him, but maybe it stole some of his memories. Could you check with him?" It sounded as though Fuji was on a train or something. There was a lot of commotion in the background.

"He's asleep right now. I'll check when he wakes up."

"Well I have to go now. Tell him that I love him with all my heart and that—" Inui turned off the phone before Fuji could finish his lengthy message. The vampire would continue talking anyway until he realized that no one was on the other line.

"Mom? Dad? Hazue?" Kaidoh sleepily called. He yawned as he sat up on the couch he was sitting on.

"Good, you're awake." Inui took his seat by the couch.

"Fffshhh…" Kaidoh hissed softly. A pink shade formed on his cheeks.

He remembered…He remembered that day in the park.

Inui smiled with amusement. This Kaidoh Kaoru, he could prove to be the one person able to be his new assistant after all.

* * *

Inui sighed. "You'll never be able to kill one. I'm trying to teach you how to be my assistant. You'll need to learn how to kill these things. Now, are you willing to kill this thing?"

Kaidoh stared blankly at Inui. Slowly he shook his head.

"Remember the promise you made? To avenge the deaths of your family. Do this for your family, Kaidoh." Inui tried to persuade.

The Reaper wriggled and tried to get loose. It shrieked with the pain the movement caused. The sharp edge of the knife bit into its side and drew blood out. The sound seemed to snap Kaidoh out of his dazed state caused by the fear.

He closed his eyes and swallowed down the rising bile in his throat. Slowly Kaidoh walked closer to the Reaper. With his left hand he grasped the head of the creature. A slimey substance rubbed onto his bare hand. Kaidoh shuddered at the feel.

"Kaoru! No! Kaoru!" The Reaper desperately screamed in the voice of his mother.

Kaidoh wrapped his right hand around the handle of the knife. His hand shook. This was it.

"How could you! My son! Kaoru!" It continued.

Kaidoh hesitated from hearing the voice of his mother. He could remember her voice so clearly, but he couldn't remember her face at all. Most of his memories were still gone. Kaidoh only had a few sounds and pictures to remember his life with.

His right hand shook. Could he do this? This voice…It belonged to his mother. Would killing this monster help him at all? It sounded like mother…What if it was? What if killing it would inevitably kill the last remainders of mother? What if Inui was just…lying about this stuff?

Questions arose inside Kaidoh's mind. So many different possibilities. His grip on the knife weakened and he felt his hand begin to slip away.

Inui's hand wrapped around Kaidoh's His callused hands squeezed Kaidoh's as if to say _It's alright, I'm here_. The hesitation Kaidoh felt slowly vanished.

"Kaidoh?" Inui's voice broke through Kaidoh's train of thoughts.

"H-hai!"

Confidently he pulled down the knife in a straight line with the guidance of Inui. Doing this almost cut the Reaper into two. Only a few, thin pieces of flesh kept the gruesome creature in one piece. Disgusted with the feel of the Reaper he dropped the head.

The lifeless corpse fell to the ground. At that exact moment it started to glow. The glow was soft, almost like candlelight. White glowing balls left the dead body of the Reaper. They all went into all sorts of directions.

One stopped in front of Kaidoh. The light surrounding it increased until Kaidoh was blinded momentarily. When his vision returned he stood staring at a woman that was probably in her 40's.

"Kaoru…" The image of the woman whispered in the same voice that the Reaper was using before.

"…Mom?" Kaidoh hesistantly answered.

"Remember us and that we all loved you very much, Kaoru." It whispered again. Kaidoh could see through it. He could see the blood splatter that the Reaper had left behind.

"Take care of my son…" The woman said to Inui.

Moving like the wind the woman stepped forward. Her arms were stretched out and wrapped around Kaidoh in an embrace. Kaidoh attempted to return it, but his hand passed through empty, cold air.

Slowly the woman grew dimmer and dimmer until the image of her was completely gone. After her disappearance a wave of things hit Kaidoh. Bike…Hawaii…Birthday…School…Family. Before Kaidoh could inform Inui of the new memories, he had collapsed.

Inui couldn't help smiling as he picked up the new assistant. He'd have to repay Fuji sometime for bringing to him Kaidoh Kaoru.

* * *

"I would like to ask if you would like to be my assistant. You help me and I'll help you. Does that sound good?"

"…"

"Well?"

"Yes, I'll be…You're new assistant."

"Good."

* * *

**Kiyami: Because the news of AniPuri makes me so incredibly sad, I've been filled with a need to write fanfictions. Seriously though, TeniPuri will always be my one true love.**

**Read and Review.**


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